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location: Frist page Theory & Efficacy The Cultural Connotation of “Wild Geese on the Sandbank”(Ping Sha Luo Yan)(I)
2018-07-03
The Cultural Connotation of “Wild Geese on the Sandbank”(Ping Sha Luo Yan)(I)


“Wild Geese on the Sandbank” is the ninth routine of the Health Qigong Dao Yin Yang Sheng Gong Shi Er Fa. This name first appeared as the name of a musical composition portraying flocks of wild geese calling and gliding on the sandbank in Guqinzhengzong written in 1634. There is also a Pipa composition with the same name, showing the same theme with a different tune.

Word-Ocean wrote: “Wild geese(Aves: Anatidae) are large natatores with size and appearance similar to that of domestic geese. Their beaks are wide and thick. Males and females have similar feather color: mainly gray and brown with stripes. They mainly feed on tender leaves, thin roots, seeds and so on. In China, swan geese, bean geese, and white-fronted geese are common species. ”

Chinese Folk Mascots wrote: “Wild geese(also Hongyan) are typical migrant birds. They fly to the south around the autumnal equinox and return to the north during next year’s vernal equinox punctually. Thus they became the sign of changing seasons in ancient times. Wild geese line up in the order of age when migrating. ” That's why ancient people treat them as cultural symbols.

“The dew looks like spring rain drop and the moon’s color is like that of frost. I can’t see the milky way but can see a line of wild geese.”(quoted from Lu Lun, A Poem Answering Taichang Mr. Wang During Moon Enjoying in Spring)

“When walking with an elder generation, you should follow him. When walking with your peer, you should go side by side with him.” (quoted from Liji Wangzhi) This indicated that people should follow the order of age when getting along with others. Also, wild geese were used as the first-visiting gift prepared by young people for elder ones.  

According to the SuWu 's Biography in Hanshu, wild geese could bring letters for people. When Su Wu went to Xiongnu as an envoy of Han and was detained, the Xiongnu nobles tried to let him surrender by coercing and bribing, but Su Wu didn’t betray his home country. He was then driven to the North Sea(today’s Lake Baikal) and was forced to work as a shepherd there for 19 years until 81 BC, the 6th year of the Zhao Emperor’s rule. Zhao Emperor asked Xiongnu to let Su Wu and other envoys of Han return, but Xiongnu people lied that the Han envoys were dead. Later when another envoy visited Xiongnu, Chang Hui, one of Su Wu’s subordinates went secretly to tell him that Su Wu and his fellow envoys were still alive. Chang Hui told this envoy to blame the Xiongnu King’s lying and say that during the Han Emperor’s hunting in Shanglin garden, he knew from a letter tied to a wild goose's leg that Su Wu and other envoys were trapped somewhere on the lakeside. The new envoy blamed the Xiongnu King according to Chang Hui’s words. The King had no other choice but to apologize to the envoy and let Su Wu and his subordinates back. After that, “the foot of a wild goose” can be referred to a messenger in the Chinese language.

According to the rule of “getting to the root of a matter and concluding it precisely and briefly”, we can find out three points about the cultural connotation of “Wild Geese on the Sandbank” according to its movement structure.

I. The movements of turning head left and right in turn and looking out can help dredge the Dazhui point, which is the gathering point of the six yang meridians.

TCM shows us that the Dazhui point belongs to the governor vessel. It is located under the seventh cervical spine at about the same level with the shoulders. Jiayijing wrote: “The Dazhui point is the gathering point of the governor vessel, the three yang meridians of hand and the three yang meridians of foot.” There are two Dingchuan points 0.5 cuns away from the Dazhui point on the two sides of it.

We can know from physiology that the seventh cervical spine can be also dragged to a certain extent when the person turns his head. In this way, The Dazhui point and Dingchuan points can receive positive stimulus in this process. Within a natural and possible range, the wider the head rotates, the stronger the stimulus received by the Dazhui point and Dingchuan points. TCM theories also show that stimulating the Dazhui point and Dingchuan points has these effects:

1. Allay fever and stop malaria: Prevent and treat cold, fever, malaria, and other related diseases.

2. Clear the lung and relieve wheezing: Prevent coughs, asthma and tracheitis.

3. Nourish qi and dredge yang: Prevent colds, general weakness, white blood cell decrease, and brain underdevelopment.

4. Calm nerves and reduce phlegm: Prevent epilepsy and mental illness.

When an exerciser is doing “Wild Geese on the Sandbank”, he should turn his head according to the stretching and retreating direction of his legs and arms and look into the distance to stimulate the Dazhui point. In this way, the above four effects can be realized.

II. Crouching legs in the shape of packing step can help the three yin and the three yang meridians of foot, promote exterior-interior unity and yin-yang harmony, and improve the function of the spleen, the stomach, the liver, the gallbladder, the urinary bladder, the kidney and other viscera.

We all know that the three yin meridians of foot include the kidney meridian of foot-shaoyin, the spleen meridian of foot-taiyin and the liver meridian of foot-jueyin. The three yang meridians of foot include the bladder meridian of foot-taiyang, the stomach meridian of foot-yangming and the liver meridian of food-shaoyang.

According to TCM theories, people have two kidneys(with the Mingmen point in this body part). Its meridians have exterior and interior relation with the urinary bladder, which can store urine and urinate. The kidneys achieve unity with bones and open to the ears. They can maintain essence, strengthen bones and teeth, nourish marrows, develop brain talents, improve hearing and increase energy. They are the base of growth, reproduction and other vital movements. Thus they were called “congenital foundation” by ancient people.

The spleen is located in the abdominal cavity. Its meridians have exterior and interior relation with the stomach, which can receive and digest water and food. The spleen achieves unity with muscles and opens to the mouth. It mainly serves to deliver nutrition, preserves the clean and discharges the dirty, and acts as the source of blood and energy supporting the whole body. The spleen and the stomach have many important functions such as promoting qi, generating blood, strengthening muscles and limbs, resolving phlegm and drying dampness. So ancient people called the spleen and stomach as “the root of acquired constitution”.

The liver is located in the ribs. Its meridians have exterior and interior relation with the liver, which has the job of producing courage and decision. The liver achieves unity with tendons and opens to the eyes. It manages the storage and regulation of blood and the movements of all joints.

When the exerciser is doing “Wild Geese on the Sandbank”, practices prove that the movements of stretching, crouching downwards, and then crossing one’s legs can benefit the function of the three yin meridians and the three yang meridians of foot, dredging them to let qi and blood flow smoothly and effectively improve the ability of qi-converting during visceral physiological activity. This can strengthen the body and prevent symptoms such as kidney failure and fire deficiency, splenic and gastric incoordination, dyspepsia, insufficient liver qi, dreaminess, and skittishness.

(By Zhang Guangde and Si Chaoquan)

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